It largely depends on the game. I kind of like combat being utter trout in Silent Hill because you often play as ordinary citizens who probably never fired a gun in their life. In the early years of RE, I hated the controls because I felt it was weird for special forces members to be so damn flimsy and ill equipped for combat that didn't involve big guns. I sometimes I wonder if I might actually enjoy RE4 if I bothered to play it.

If the point of the game is horror, then I am of the attitude that combat and action should be minimal, it's hard to be scary when your main character is someone like Dante who disembowels demons with his pinky. If you want an action game with horror elements, go all out but don't expect anyone to be scared, there is a good reason why Alien is a better thriller and horror film than Aliens.